Helen Patton: A platform to talk about security. [CISO] [Career Notes]

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4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 14 September 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Please enjoy this encore of Career Notes. Advisory CISO at Cisco, Helen Patton, shares that a combination of dumb luck, hard work and serendipity that got her to where she is today. Growing up in the country in Australia, Helen notes that computers were not really a thing. She happened into technology after moving to the US, as she was the only person in her office under 40. Of course she would be comfortable with computers and able to handle a database conversion, right? That launched her into a career that spanned supporting small nonprofits, working at one of the biggest banks on Wall Street while leading a global team, being the CISO of a major university, and now Advisory CISO at Cisco. Helen recently wrote a book, "Navigating the Cybersecurity Career Path," to help others know when it's time to move on from one role to another role as part of desire to give back to the community. We thank Helen for sharing her story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the Cyberwire Network, powered by N2K.
0:09.7	AI adoption is exploding, and security teams are under pressure to keep up.
0:16.9	That's why the industry is coming together at the Datasec AI conference,
0:21.4	the premier event for cybersecurity data and AI leaders, hosted by data security leader,
0:27.4	Saira.
0:28.5	Built for the industry, by the industry, this two-day conference is where real-world insights and bold solutions take center stage.
0:36.6	Datasek AI 25 is happening November 12th and 13th in Dallas.
0:41.8	There's no cost to attend.
0:43.4	Just bring your perspective and join the conversation.
0:46.7	Register now at Datasek AI 2025.com backslash cyberwire.
0:52.7	Thank you. dot com backslash cyberwire. Hello, my name is Helen Patton, and I am an advisory CISO at Cisco.
1:17.9	So I grew up in the country in Australia in the 70s and 80s, so I'm dating myself tremendously.
1:21.7	And computers were not a thing where I was growing up.
1:24.5	I thought I might be a landscape architect.
1:27.0	I thought I might be an English teacher. I thought I might be an economist.
1:29.7	I'm okay at math, but I don't love it. But I like the human interaction, which actually
1:34.3	served me really well in security once I got there. But no idea about computers, networks,
1:40.7	certainly not security when I was growing up.
1:51.1	It was a combination of dumb luck and a little bit of hard work and serendipity.
1:59.6	I left high school and I did what a lot of Australians do and I took a gap year and I started working in a bank and I
2:02.1	really enjoyed having money because I was working and I didn't want to go back to school full
2:06.8	time. So I started doing a business degree part time and this was in Sydney, Australia.
	...

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